


Always A Hero

by angelus2hot



Category: Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
Genre: Angst, Community: smallfandomfest, F/M, Het
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-17
Updated: 2012-01-17
Packaged: 2017-10-29 16:48:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/322024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelus2hot/pseuds/angelus2hot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A hero should be able to save the woman he loves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Always A Hero

**Author's Note:**

> **Title:** Always A Hero  
>  **Fandom:** Hercules the Legendary Journeys  
>  **Rating:** PG-15  
>  **Word Count:** 1,141  
>  **Characters/Pairing:** Hercules/Deianeira  
>  **Summary:** A hero should be able to save the woman he loves.  
>  **A/N:** written for [Fest10](http://smallfandomfest.livejournal.com) at smallfandomfest

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v520/Angelus2hot/Land%20of%20Art/?action=view&current=alwaysaherobanner.jpg)

For a few minutes Hercules stood still and watched silently as his wife played with their children. Her white dress flowed freely around her, her skin shown in the sunshine as she twirled their youngest daughter high above her head. God, she was so beautiful. How was he supposed to look her in the eyes and tell her he had failed? That no matter what he did he couldn’t save her.

It was only by the kindness of the god of the Underworld that he had been able to see her again. If there was one thing Hades understood it was being kept away from a loved one. So he had allowed Hercules to see her one more time. And even though failure clung to him like a second skin he was thankful to Hades for allowing him this time.

 

Something, some kind of intuition told her to turn around. A soft smile curled her lips as she saw Hercules standing in the meadow. It never ceased to amaze her the thrill she got each time she saw him. It was almost as if each time was the first time. Her smile slowly began to fade as she noticed the look on his face. The news wasn’t good but she had known it wouldn’t be.

“Hercules?”

He closed his eyes against the bombardment of emotion flowing through his body before he opened them and began to walk towards her. He would do anything, give up all that he was just to be able to tell her that he had done it. He had saved her but he couldn’t. Tears shimmered in his eyes before falling slowly down his cheeks. “I’m so sorry. I wanted to save you so badly. I did everything I could to bring you back but nothing worked. But I tried. The gods know I tried.” His heart shattered into a million tiny pieces as he told the woman he loved he had failed to save her. “I wanted to be your hero.” He whispered against the top of her head as he slid his arms around her body and pulled her close.

She held on to him tightly, hoping the love she felt would comfort him. Finally, with tears glistening in her eyes, Deianeira smiled softly as she tilted her head back to look up at the love of her life. “You already are my hero. You have always been my hero. It’s not your fault. I knew that no matter what you did the children and I would have to stay in the Elysian Fields.”

“You knew?” There was no way she could’ve known he would fail. “How?”

“Because we’re gone from the mortal world, Hercules. The children and I, we can’t come back. Not ever. I know you wanted...” She stopped as Hercules quickly interrupted.

“But that’s not true. I’ve brought Iolaus back. And he was...”

This time it was Deianeira’s turn to interrupt. “That was different, Hercules. Our death isn’t something you can fix. No one, especially not one of the gods, want to go against Hera.”

A cold chill crept through his body at her words. She knew how she had died. _How could she have known?_ He didn’t realize he had spoken the last question out loud until she answered him.

“I overheard you and Hades talking on your first visit here.”

_Son of a bitch!_ That was just one more way he had failed her in the long line of ways he had managed to mess up her life. “I’m sorry, Deianeira. I’m responsible for your and our children’s death. It’s all my fault. I didn’t have the right to love you, to father children. Maybe it would have been better if we had never met.”

“Stop it, Hercules! Don’t say that. Not ever. I couldn’t have asked for a kinder, gentler man than you. You were and always will be the love of my life and I don’t regret any part of my life that I’ve spent with you. For a brief time I got to hold you, love you and call you mine. I will never regret that and I hope that you won’t either.”

“But...”

“There’s no buts, Hercules. We can only be thankful for the time we were given with each other. The time we got to spend as husband and wife, as mother and father to three beautiful children. If we let ourselves dwell in regret for what we can’t have then we let ourselves forget what we did have. We were the lucky ones.”

“Lucky? You can call this lucky?” His voice broke as he began to speak. “Every day I wake up missing you. And every night I go to sleep praying that it’s all a bad dream and when I open my eyes you will be there. But I’m doomed to disappointment. Because everyday when I open my eyes you’re not there and the whole vicious cycle begins all over again.” Hercules bowed his head as tremors shook his body. “Every day I live with knowledge that if it hadn’t been for me you would still be alive.”

Deianeira put her hand under his chin and gently urged him to look at her. “Don’t you get it, Hercules? My life was what it was because of you. Every good thing that has ever happened to me was because of you and your love.”

“But it wasn’t all good. You and the children di...”

She quickly pulled his head down and kissed him on the lips. “Yes, we did die. But that’s life, Hercules. It can’t always be sunshine and roses. There’s going to be pain and suffering. But I like to think that all the bad stuff that leaves a bitter taste in your mouth just makes the good parts of life taste that much sweeter.”

_You and the children are my good parts of life._ Hercules’ tears fell harder as he pulled her tighter into his embrace. Gods, he missed her so much. He missed his family. He missed being a husband and a father. “I miss you.”

“And I miss you. More than you will ever know. But I do know someday we will be together again. I’ll get to hold you and love you forever. But do me one favor, Hercules. Take your time. Don’t be in such a hurry to get here. We can wait. The world needs you as their hero.”

“What about you?”

She laid her head against his chest as she whispered softly, “I’ll be here waiting for you.”

As she let her tears fall onto his skin she heard him whisper the same words he said to her earlier. “I wanted to be your hero.”

Deianeira clutched him tighter as the tears fell faster. “You will always be my hero no matter where you are.”


End file.
